Travelling to Bali: Four Hundred Years of Journeys

by Adrian Vickers

This collection of writings about the Indonesian island of Bali is a presentation of the various facets of travel and the myriad perspectives on the island. The anthology covers four hundred years of journeys, including reports of the 1597 Dutch 'first fleet', Francois Valentijn's baroque account of slavery and sodomy, the effusive outpourings of 1920s travellers to 'paradise', and the reflections of Balinese writers on what was happening to their island in the 1970s and 1980s. Extracts are grouped broadly by theme - getting to Bali, encounters on the island, political and social events, the wonders of nature, places, culture and the arts, and religions - which together form an entertaining and edifying collection which can be read for its prose, for its amusing stories, or as a historical 'reader'.

Genres: History

Hardcover

First published March 30, 1995

Reviews

[Imran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banyak kisah-kisah tentang Bali zaman dulu yang belum pernah saya dengar.
Ada informasi yang cukup mengejutkan bagi saya: upacara ngaben untuk para bangsawan diikuti dengan pengorbanan diri para selir dengan cara melompat ke dalam api. Pengorbanan ini bahkan disaksikan oleh masyarakat dan dianggap sebagai suatu kehormatan. Bahkan saudara laki-laki dan ayah membantu mendorong saudara perempuan tersebut jika dia tampak ragu mengorbankan diri.

Ada juga cerita menarik tentang perdagangan antara pedagang dari Thailand dengan masyarakat Bali. Moral yang luhur tentang bagaimana orang Bali sangat melindungi lingkungan , hewan dan tumbuhan juga disajikan dalam beberapa tulisan di buku ini.

[Mark Eveleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vickers also edited 'Bali Chronicles' and both books are an amazing insight to the early days of tourism on the island. I read both when I was researching a Bali-based magical realism thriller and would recommend this one in particular to any reader with an interest in this island.